The Endless Sea(Preview)

Chapter 3 - "Citius"

Hochwald Forest

March 20th, 1308 AD

Chapter-3 "Citius"

Every breath I take... Every step I make... Every moment I move my body and soul creates a blank portrait of itself... a blank portrait... a blank portrait which covers an abstract painting, an abstract painting that if viewed by a dull mind will be misinterpreted to be nothing but falsehood. If-... viewed correctly, it can show a true picture of color and emotion. I remained true to my principles. The dogma that was laid down by the holy church and by the kings lead me to believe that my behavior against the heretics was justified. It torments me..truly. I wish I can be safe and put this past behind me, but it creeps behind me like an unwanted shadow. A shadow that is truly dark.

My next few moments of running tired me more than I believed possible. But I needed to push. These uncharted lands can eat me out of existence leaving my name to nothing but a leaf in a forest. These next few moments came quickly, I never even noticed the rocks buried under the tall grass piercing my shoes. I had no time to check if whether or not the shoes were actually pierced and so I continued. Sprinting went to running and running went jogging. My heart began to ache and burn like acid as my breath grew hotter. The moist-cool air from the sea creeping into the forest kept me from collapsing from exhaustion. Charlotte could not have gone too south through these woods. If I recall correctly the lights were a mere 4 kilometers.

Moments passed, time flew by and soon I came across what looked like some sort of road work. A dirt road with stone lining to guide the dirt, it seems that the stone was all connected by the same fiber in the tall grass while being stuck with the sap from trees. I pondered on what to do next, follow the road or continue. I lost track of distancing and time, and so I decided not to risk it and follow the suspicious road what I believed to be west, which would be to the right. It took me a while as my mind was beginning to crave the thought of an actual meal, but I realized these roads must've been created by some sort of intelligent life, perhaps this is some sort of mythical land home to unknown beings that lurk at night. Or perhaps this is ordinary uncharted land that merely remained untouched by European Civilization. I kept a sharp eye for any travelers along this road, as the road seemed to be still in high maintenance. I was worried, I did not know what to expect at the end, I tried to keep my mind off it thinking about the beautiful leaves, which were quite large mind you, falling with patches of dark orange and green. Sounds of birds and other creatures. It soothed me... and I disliked it. This feeling that I should not have.

After many turns and twist, the road was leading to something, a structure. This structure was hard to describe. My excitement blend with anxiety made me run forward. I wanted to see what was at the end, like a child running curiously down an unknown path. Once I arrived, my eyes were staggered. I did not know what it was, my own mind could not comprehend to describe it. Anchored into the ground, a large building. Surrounding the building the trees seemed to have cleared off, and the forest slowly crept to an end. The road cut into two parts surrounding the building while one piece branches off into a hilly tree-less terrain behind the building. The building itself, was tall perhaps 6 meters or more. It was in a curved shape like an oval. The building seemed to be made of the same strong stone that was sprinkled throughout these lands. Beside the building was a sign with some sort of scripture unknown to me. As I approached the building I glanced to see the sign in detail. The sign pointed in two directions, one pointing at the branch off-road and the building. It had many odd characters and symbols which seemed to be repeating in different sets. Perhaps it was an alphabet, nonetheless, I looked back at the building and walked up to the front of the building. The door was made of wood and the door handle was made of what seemed to be metal coated with orange paint. I gripped the handle and slowly turned it entering the building. The door was not too tall so the noise it made was light. It creaked, and I entered to view a large hall.